willison



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. WILLISON.

GAR COUPLING.

(No Model.)

No. 661,843. Patented June 9, 1896.

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J. WILLISON GAR COUPLING No. 561,843. Patented June 9, 1896.

INVENTOR UNITED STATES PATENT JOHN XVITJLISON, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL MALLEABLE CASTINGS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 561,843, dated June 9, 1896.

Application filed November 10, 1893. Serial No. 490,546. (No model.)

To 61- whom itmay cancer-71,.-

Be it knownthat LJOHN lVILLIsotLof Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Attachments for Car-Couplers, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a view showing my improved device in front elevation. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a plan view on a smaller scale.

The object of my invention is to provide a catch for holding the hand-lever or crank of the rock-shaft of a car-coupler so that the locking mechanism is maintained in unlocked position.

Referring to the drawings, 2, Fig. 3, represents a coupler-head of the twin-jaw type, and is a knuckle opening and locking device connected by achain orlink to the cranka-rin :L of a rock-shaft 5, which extends horizontally to the side of the car, where it is provided with a hand-lever or crank 6, carried in suitable bearings or hangers, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, enabling the shaft to be retated by the brakeinan so as to lift the looking device and to free the knuckle of the coupler. These parts are well known in the art, and are not claimed, broadly, herein, the subject of my invention being a device by which, when the coupler-lock has been freed, the hand-lever maybe held so as to maintain the lock in such released position. This holding device, as shown in the drawings, consists of a segmental catch pivoted on a boss or post 8, which projects from a baseplate or hanger set at the end of the car opposite to the hand-lever G, and adapted to be oscillated thereon in a plane transverse to the direction of length of the car by a handle 9 5 but the catch may be made withou t a handle, as shown in Fig. 5, in which case the catch is moved by pushing or pulling its body portion directly by hand, instead of by grasping a handle. The catch has at its margin a boss 10, which projects forwardly from the face of the catch and is guided and braced by a lip 1.1, which projects from the base-plate. This lip 11 may also serve as a stop to limit the oscillatory motion of the catch in one direction by contact with the boss 10 and a lug 12, formed on the rear side of the catch next the hanger-plate, which serves as a stop for said lug and limits the motion of the catchin the opposite direction.

If the hand-lever be raised by the brakeman so as to unlock the coupler, the catch then turned on its pivot so as to bring the boss 10 directly beneath the hand-lever, and the hand-lever then released, the boss will serve as a supporting-rest, and will keep the lever elevated so as to prevent the locking device of the coupler from acting. In this position the boss or rest is intermediate between the hand-lever and the base-plate or shaft-hanger. This is shown in Fig. 2 and by dotted lines in Fig. 1. To keep the catch in this position, I shape the handle 9 so that it will engage the side of the hand-lever, or the boss 10 may be provided with a lug 18, adapted to engage laterally with said lever, or both these constructions may be used together, as shown in the drawings. They are referred to indifferently in the claim by the term a projecting portion of the catch adapted to engage the side of the operating lever.

In order to provide for the disengagement of the catch, its center of gravity is so disposed with reference to its pivot 8 that if the hand-lever be released from the surface of the boss the catch will turn automatically to the position shown by full lines in Fig. 1, thusremoving the boss from beneath the handle-lever and leaving the latter free to drop and to permitthe coupler-locking device to engage the knuckle. A suitable spring may be used to effect the automatic motion, instead of using gravity for such purpose. The lifting of the hand-lever 6, and the freeing of the catch which results therefrom, may be done by the hand of the brakeman. He has only to lift the hand-lever slightly, and need not touch the catch, for, as above explained, the latter will move out of the way automatically as soon as it is relieved from contact with the hand-lever. This construction is of great advantage, and while well adapted to twin-jaw couplers without knuckle-opening devices, and is so claimed herein broadly, it is of especial benefit as ap plied to couplers having knuckle-opening devices operated by movement of the handlever 9 beyond the motion needed to free the locking device, as is the coupler which 1 have illustrated in Fig. 3.

My invention has numerous advantages. The catch is simple and durable, and its ease of operation, its automatic movement, and reliability render it a very desirable adjunct to car-couplers.

I claim- In the locking mechanism of a car-coupler, the combination with the operating-lever, of a catch oscillatory in a plane transverse to 

